


To Be Alternately Victum And Executioner

by teaspoonofdoom



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, Some Plot, basically Babs helps Lee with info on Sofia so she can get her revenge, not really - Freeform, some - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:34:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaspoonofdoom/pseuds/teaspoonofdoom
Summary: "It might be pleasant to be alternately victim and executioner."-CHARLES BAUDELAIRE, My Heart Laid Bare---She didn't even mention Jim's name this time, they're getting better at communicating. One on one. Just two gals conspirating against a third one.





	To Be Alternately Victum And Executioner

If she had found herself walking down on a dirty street past midnight, and in the Narrows on top of it all, say five years ago, Barbara would've been truly anxious about her well being. No longer as terrified by muggers or possible rapists as she is by the possiblity of the Dentist or someone of his rank waiting at her home for her to come back, but disgusted by the current surroundings nevertheless, she makes her way to the fixed location.

The light rain makes her hair stick to her face unpleasantly. She should have brought a hooded coat or an umbrella, not that she has a free hand to hold it with, a folder letter in her left one and a gun in the other. When she reaches the safehouse, Barbara shifts the letter under her unbuttoned coat and knocks on the decayed door. 

Three times quickly. A pause. Then a fourth.

Noice is audible from the other side of the door, someone coming to open it. It's a bony kid with greasy hair and acne scars. He looks at her over the door chain, only half of his face visible through the crack.

"Password?" He coughes.

"You kidding me?" Barbara rolls her eyes as she puts the gun in her belt. The guy takes out a piece of crumpled paper.

"There's a clue."

"Let's hear it."

He clears his throat again.

"Lennon's killer or Lennon's _the_ killer."

 _Obviously not talking about Mark Chapman_ , Barbara muses to herself. "Jason! Jim or Jason." The boy doesn't confirm it but his face lets out she's close, "J?"

He closes the door, removes the chain and lets her in at last. And locks it again immediately after that.

The room holds no more than a single table and a chair as well as a set of cards, some of which into piles, perhaps 'The Gatekeeper' had been playing Canfeild. A pass-the-time method she's familiar with.

The boy leads her through a hall with yellowed by time wallpapers, door frames without doors, windows with nailed wood planks where the glass should be, untill they reach the back entrance and he nods towards the fire escape stairs.

Barbara sighs, looks up, a figure is standing three floors away form her. Rain water falls in her eyes and she adverts her gaze to her feet, starts climbing the stairs with caution.

To her credit, Lee looks pretty good for someone overthrown and beaten. Her hair doesn't look dirty, there's a thick hood over her head to shed it from the rain. Even some make-up is present. Dark lipstick, mhmm. _Queen of the Narrows_ , Barbara considers bowing on the last step, just to spite her, you know. She decides not to.

"Barbara." Lee breathes out.

"Doc." Barbara in turn winks, hands her the folder letter with a smirk. "Files on various of Sofia's illegal associations. Plenty of dirty shirts to show to the GCPD."

She didn't even mention Jim's name this time, they're getting better at communicating. One on one. Just two gals conspirating against a third one. 

Lee takes the folder with a single hand, her right one still in the coat pocket. It's not like Barbara doesn't know what she's hiding. Tabitha had let her on the details as Sofia was leaving, heading to the Narrows with the full intention to smash Lee's hand in. It strucks Barbara with guilt now, an ugly feeling tight in her stomach, an addition to the pain in her head.

"I told you that's not how I plan to take her out." Lee's voice is sharp but her eyes are merely tired. 

_Take her out_ , not _Bring her down_ or even _Expose her_. Lee is going for blood. It's a delicious look on her, tugs at her lips just so, blurs her eyes, darkens her whole face. She resembles a force to be feared, and maybe she is, or maybe she's not. She is Barbara's most promising choice if she wants to get rid of Sofia. 

"There's also a copy of her schedule for the next two weeks." Lee tries to open the folder with one hand. Barbara's just about to go and help her out when she takes out her damaged hand and supports the folder with it as she takes a look. "Take note she may change things in it."

Lee looks through the files quickly as Barbara stares at her hand, not stubly. There's not so much to stare at, just bandages, relatively clean ones, given the circumstances. It's not even moving, still on the back of the folder, but the fingers twitch slightly every now and then. If Barbara manages to shift her eyes from it to Lee's face fast enough she is able to notice a flash of discomfort washing over it. Or it could be from whatever she's reading up there. 

Barbara clears her throat, unintentionally. Lee looks up and locks their eyes. Barbara shifts her weight from one leg to another, takes a step backwards and down a step.

"Wait." Lee shuts the folder closed and holds it with the damaged hand. _Must hurt._ She feels around her coat for something. Doesn't find it and adds: "...Here."

She leaves the door slightly open when she goes inside. Barbara takes her previous place and peers up from the window, this one has a glass, a dirty one but intact. Lee opens a couple of cupboards and drawers. Her raised voice breaks the rhythm the raindrops create as they hit the metal frame of the staircase:

"Come inside. I don't want you to get sick."

"You could always doctor me back to health, right?" The door creacks as Barbara closes it. She worries the door knob may break off and remain in her palm.

"Don't push your luck."

Lee finds what she'd been looking for - a cell phone - and goes to hand it over to Barbara, only in her hury she closes the drawer with one end of her bandages inside. She lets out a soft "ouch" because of the pull and while Barbara usually would laugh, she doesn't find it funny in the least now. She runs a hand through her head, tries to get some of the water out of it, as Lee rearranges the bandages.

Barbara walks up to her and takes the cell phone, left on the desk. As she susspected, only one number in it.

"In case of emergency. If she spontaneously decides to go after me and finish the job," Lee rises her hand, probably to examine it but it comes off as an example of Sofia's casual cruelty. "Or if you get caught..."

"Aw, don't you worry." A smile tugs at Barbara's lips.

"I wasn't-"

"Got any aspirin?"

"Lower drawer," Lee points to it. Barbara takes two pills and swallows them dry. "I should probably go now."

"Take these." Lee shoves an umbrella and a wool cap with flaps in her arms. It seems like Barbara might leave with more stuff than she arrived with. "Someone may recognise you like that."

"Like who?"

"A Sampson loyalist or something."

"There are loyalists in the Narrows?"

Lee sighs. 

"Okay, fine." Barbara puts on the hat, tries not to think who it may belong to, hopefully not someone with dandruff. Waves awkwardly at Lee who walks her out the door and stays in the rain with her untill she opens the umbrella.

"Send a message when you get home safely and in the morning."

"Sure. Good luck." Barbara sure as Hell hopes Lee's plan works out. Strangely enough, not only because Sofia will go after her head the minute she finds out what she had to do with it. Not only.


End file.
